The present disclosure relates to a lid configured for coupling to an open top fluid container and, more specifically, to a container lid having a valve configured to seal and unseal a drinking aperture formed in the container lid wherein the valve is also permanently secured in a position in which the drinking aperture remains unsealed.
Plastic disposable lids for mounting to open top fluid containers, such as coffee cups, are well-known in the art. Such lids are intended to avoid undesired spillage of a liquid due to accidental tipping of the cup or jostling during transit. While spillage of a beverage from a fluid container is almost always undesirable, when the beverage is a hot beverage such as coffee or tea, spillage also poses a safety hazard and can result in serious burns.
A number of different types of container lids are known in the art that include a rim that is cooperative with and may be urged over a lip of an open top fluid container to secure the lid to the fluid container.
One prior art container lid illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b depicts a lid 100 with a drinking aperture closed and opened respectively. The lid is formed of a thin plastic material and includes a tab defined by thin tearable borders that allow the tab to be bent back over the lid and secured to the top of the lid to create a drinking opening. After bending the tab back over the top of the lid it is no longer possible to seal the drinking opening.
Another prior art container lid 200 is shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b. This lid, like the prior lid, includes a tab that may be bent back over the top of the lid and secured to provide a drinking opening. After bending the tab back over the top of the lid, as in the case of the prior lid, it is no longer possible to seal the drinking opening.
Yet another prior art container lid 300 is shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b. This lid includes a drinking opening which remains open at all times. Consequently, spillage of a beverage is always a risk if the container is tipped or jostled.
Container lids that address the deficiencies of the above-referenced lids are the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 9,296,532 and U.S. Pat. No. 9,475,626 which are assigned to the present assignee. The above-identified patents disclose a container lid that is mountable to the lip of an open top fluid container, such as a coffee cup, by urging a rim of the lid over the lip of the container. The lid includes a body member and a valve that permits a drinking aperture to be temporarily unsealed by applying downward pressure to a portion of the top surface of the lid. The valve seals the drinking aperture when the downward pressure is removed.
While it is desirable for a drinking aperture to be unsealed temporarily while drinking from the fluid container to avoid inadvertent spillage, it would be desirable for a user to be able to permanently lock the valve so the drinking aperture remained unsealed in certain circumstances.